I want to chime in as someone who was raised in a nice strong christian household, and brought up in a culture where they considered "gayness" to be a sin. I would like to think I have gotten past it completely, but I am sure that if we dig deep, I still have some of that upbringing in me.
Most of the people I have met in the churches we went to viewed homosexuality as a person who has "gone astray." Many of them did not view the person as a bad person, just on a wrong path, and believe they can be brought back to a "right path." If you went to them and said you used to be gay, but were brought back by the light of jesus, they would all welcome you in, and probably stick you on metaphorical pedastal for a while as an example of how "right" they were. These people aren't really hating you, they just want to believe they are living their lives correctly, and doing the right thing. They look to their book to figure out what is right, and it comforts them, and they want other people to follow the same path because that comfort leads them to believe it is the only right path.
Then there is a second group of people that made up most of the rest. These people are not so much trying to be sure they are living correctly as they are trying to prove to themselves they are better than others. From my experience these people have two classes of "sin" the stuff they have done is normal, and can be forgiven and no one should remember it, the stuff they have not done is really bad and proves that they are better than others. Almost everyone in the churches I was at fell somewhere in between the two extremes.
Both groups have a critical difference from the classic racist bigots of history. They don't believe the person is inherently inferior. No KKK member would have believed that a black person could repent and become white. The people who fall mostly into the first group are going to be the easiest to bring to a real understanding and tolerance. But, both groups are aware of this difference, and don't believe they are bigots. More importantly, it is probably easier to show them the error of their beliefs. For myself, the biggest thing was just exposure. The stuff they taught me about gay people didn't hold true when I started getting to know more gay people around me.
At first, the only people that I knew were gay were the ones who shoved it in every persons face, and they actually made my impression of gay people worse. For example, one guy I worked with was gay and the only way to describe him is flaming. He was a nice guy most of the time, but I think he knew he made me uncomfortable and he seemed to find it funny to tease me a bit. But, while I know he wasn't serious, when he stroked my shoulder and pretended to hit on me, it made me uncomfortable and reinforced all the negative things they told me about the "gay people."
It was all the people who I didn't realize were gay at first that made the biggest difference. Finding out that people I thought were normal were actually "gay." Started to force me to see that the things I had been told were not true. These people were living normal lives, they weren't "disturbed" or forcing their lifestyle on other people. But, it took several years, and a lot of different people.
I know I have rambled on about this, but I have a point I swear. Most of these people really think they can "help" gay people, and that they need to protect other people from falling off the "good" path. Most of their bigotry is really based on ignorance and bad stereotypes that are reinforced by the most visible gay people. The young people are being brought up with the same views. If you want to break through these barriers you need to approach it slowly, patiently, and nicely. The best things for gay people are when people who are "normal" with good lives come out of the closet, that forces people to see something that they believe shouldn't happen. They think being gay ruins peoples lives, seeing that the world doesn't work the way they believe begins to ruin the foundations of their beliefs. The second best thing is just confronting their beliefs head on, without belittling them. It is not a gay persons fault they are born gay, it is not a bigots fault he was born to christian fundie parents who told him all gay people will burn in hellfire. It is just as if their parents told them that the world was really a glass snowball that god shook to make it rain. They did not come to their beliefs on their own, they were taught them. If they are belittled they will turn to their other christian friends for comfort and confirmation that they are right. They won't believe you when you call them a bigot, so anything else you say won't be believed either. They will believe people who respect them and say nice things to them, they will ignore people who insult them. Each time you talk to them, if you respect them you will only make a small dent in their beliefs, but it will work over time.
Now, some people cannot be reasoned with, but most of these people are merely looking for someone to look down on so they can feel superior to them. These people could probably be brought around on the subject of gay rights, but they will just find another group of people to look down on that they will try to oppress. I don't think Classy falls into this group, but I do think mocking him, and insulting him only drives him away from tolerance.